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Astro Doings May 2018

We tend to pay more attention when planets change direction in their celestial dance – direct or retrograde, especially when Mercury is involved! This May all the planets continue in the same direction they were in at the end of April. So, in that sense, it’s a pretty quiet month. What we sometimes don’t pay attention to is when planets change dance partners, aka signs. And in May three of them do just that, not including the Sun who changes partners every month or the Moon or Mercury who change them all the time, because they move so quickly through the heavens.

On May 15thUranus, planet of rebellion, flashes of intuition, inspiration and light, and of the Higher Mind moves into Taurus at 11:23 am EDT. This is a fairly big deal, since he will be in Taurus until July 2025 when he enters Gemini. Of all the signs in the zodiac, Uranus finds Taurus one of the most challenging. Think about driving behind someone going 15 mph on the highway and you’ll get a sense of this. Uranus rules lightning bolts, flashes of insight, destruction of outmoded form. Taurus is the most stubborn sign of the zodiac, rules form, moves glacially (by Uranus’s perspective), and stops all the time to smell the flowers, eat chocolate and just sit. To Taurus, Uranus feels like the proverbial bee that keeps stinging him in the backside to get him to change or that car behind you that keeps flashing its headlights to get you to move over or go faster. So, since we can’t get Taurus to move over, how can we use this energy to our advantage? First, we can realize that Taurus is an earth sign, so all these brilliant flashes of inspiration will need to have a practical application. In addition, unlike Aries which starts but doesn’t finish, Taurus is a fixed sign, which means it holds the energy until the idea/concept/inspiration is brought into form. (It can also mean stubborn, stuck, and unwilling to change.) There haven’t been many planets in fixed signs recently, which I believe has contributed to the rather frenetic energy across the globe. Those of us with planets in early degrees of Taurus, Scorpio, Leo and Aquarius may feel this entry of Uranus into Taurus more profoundly. And remember, Taurus has his good buds, Saturn and Pluto, in earthy Capricorn to help him deal with this rambunctious Uranus and to keep his flashes of insight on the practical side.

If that isn’t enough fixed energy, Mars enters Aquarius on May 16. This isn’t as challenging a relationship as Uranus in Taurus, but Aquarius, an air sign, can be quite pig-headed and unwilling to change its mind once it makes a decision about something. It also introduces the air element – the element of ideas — into the celestial mix. We haven’t had a lot of air energy recently, so not a lot of new ideas. Mars here can make us more impatient with those who don’t see our point of view or agree with us. Don’t forget, Uranus rules Aquarius, and Uranus just left the sign that Mars rules, Aries, so there is an interesting connection there. Aquarius is the sign of the visionary, primarily concerned with making things better for the group (world), and Mars (god of war) will provide energy and impetus to make change. However, Aquarius can be quite impatient with the status quo and frequently intolerant of those who don’t see the need for change as s/he does. This could mean new ways of using our Mars energy (the warrior) to make change for the benefit of all (Aquarius). Those with planets in fixed signs are going to get a double whammy the second full week of May.

And last, but certainly not least, Venus enters Cancer on May 19 at 9:11 am EDT. Cancer is a water sign, the Moon’s favorite sign. What’s interesting about this is that Venus creates a big triangle (trine) in water with Jupiter in Scorpio and Neptune in Pisces that lasts until mid-June. When planets are in the same element they can communicate with each other easily and understand each other better. Neptune is the higher octave of Venus, both dealing with love and compassion. Venus’s idea of love is more personal – I love you because you love me. Neptune, like the sea, is more vast and universal – I love you because it is in the nature of love to love. Jupiter in Scorpio could provide depth of insight. The water element can make us very emotional and our psychic sense more acute. It also can increase empathy and deep understanding of one another. Emotions could be running very high in the US, which is a Cancer sun-sign country, as is our good neighbor to the north, Canada.

Oh, yeah, the Sun moves into Gemini on May 20 at 10:15 pm EDT. The sign of the twins, Gemini is interested in everything for about five minutes and then wants to move on to something else. An air sign, Gemini is most comfortable in the realm of ideas and is frequently referred to as “the jack of all trades, master of none.”

The New Moon occurs on May 15 at 7:48 am at 240 Taurus and the Full Moon occurs on May 29th at 10:19 am at 80 Sagittarius.